News Cut: May 14, 2009 Archive

Five at 8: May 14, 2009

Posted at 7:40 AM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Don't forget there's a live chat here at 1 p.m. about the joys and concerns of biking. Share your tales and tips.

Now, then...

Having a Bike-to-Work Day is a nice little promotion, Charlie Quimby acknowledges at his blog, Across the Great Divide, as long as you don't expect it to change anything. "But like bring-a-can-of-pork-and-beans-for-admission rock concerts and this-time-you-be-the-designated-driver Saturday nights, they won't undo habits designed into our culture and our cities," he writes.

Did I mention we're having a chat today?

One out of every four ballots submitted from people living overseas in 2008 went uncounted, according to a congressional report. "Registration deadlines, notary requirements, lack of communication, mail delays, poor address information and state laws that put in place untenable mailing dates are all severe problems," Sen. Charles Schumer, chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, said at a hearing.

Why do we cling so fervently to the idea of a paper ballot and the mail system? Why not allow people overseas to go online and submit their votes? "Because it could open the system up to fraud and abuse," opponents say. One out of four.

Researcher Hans Rosling has a truly interesting set of graphics showing the state of the AIDS epidemic over the years. It took 25 years for AIDS to stabilize, "but that doesn't mean it's getting better," he says in this new TED video that was posted last night.

The Boy Scouts Explorer program is now training the kids in confronting illegal immigration. At this rate, who will be left to build benches along wooded nature paths?

What do you do with a jet that lands in the Hudson River? You cut it up. Here are some photographs in an interview with CBS. Better story: According to the photographer's blog, US Airways wanted to use the guy's pictures, but then refused to pay for them. The insurer -- AIG -- blocked the online publication, so the photographer started a "free Flight 1549 photos" campaign. Some of the images are here, and a profile of the photographer is here. I had no idea "industrial photography" could be so beautiful.

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning - A rebroadcast of the interview with Temple Grandin on the emotional life of animals. Oh, speaking of which...

Midday - Who will be the next Supreme Court justice? I notice Amy Klobuchar's name is getting mentioned by some of the local wags. If she were to get the gig -- she won't -- would Gov. Pawlenty then appoint a senator? If so, how about Norm Coleman? These are the sorts of stories political reporters dream about.

Talk of the Nation - First hour: The military and mental health care on the battlefield. Second hour: TV series' finales. Seven characters from major shows will bite the dust, four will get married, and two will be institutionalized (we know House is one, in Mayfield, no less. If I were to joke that he'll be treated by Dr. Theodore Cleaver, would anyone under 50 get it?).

All Things Considered -- Sasha Aslanian reports on a federal education program that helps immigrant/minority/low-income kids go to college. From Washington, Pam Fessler reports that while charitable giving is on the decline, "giving circles" are increasing.

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Live chat: What's right, what's wrong when biking?

Posted at 1:06 PM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (6 Comments)
Filed under: Bridges and roads, Health, Life, Sports

Today, of course, is Bike to Work Day. If you have any pictures to share, I'd love to pass them along during the chat. Send them to me at bcollins@mpr.org.

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Is it time to end the war on drugs?

Posted at 10:56 AM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Health

The White House's "czar" on drugs has proposed an end to the "war on drugs."

Gil Kerlikowske, a former police chief in Seattle, suggests the Obama administration will pursue a policy of treatment rather than incarceration. He doesn't have the power to enact such a change; he'll have to work with a Congress that doesn't much cotton to running against a barrage of "soft on crime" opposition ads.

It's a gamble, obviously. Appearing on Daily Show last night, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, noted that the evils perpetrated by the Taliban, come from the fruit of the poppy -- heroin.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Husain Haqqani
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There is a cost to this, documented by the War on Drugs Clock Web site. Nearly two million are arrested on drug violations a year. But many people argue the war has been lost. Is it possible to eliminate a demand only through treatment? Discuss.

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The power of Google

Posted at 11:40 AM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Tech

Is Google too big not to make us fail?

Although the Internet, what with all of its tubes and all, is a huge and diverse place, Google has its tentacles in much of it and when things aren't going right at Google, they're not going well on the Internet. Today, there was a good example of how Google has become the Internet.

An outage of more than three hours brought many sites down this morning. "The Internet dies without Google. Can't get to my bank Web site because it's waiting on google-analytics.com.' This is made of lame," said Twitter user Tadiera, reported on CNet.

"Typically, these outages have never lasted for long, but once again, this outage shows how depended we have become on Google for so many of our daily tasks," says the blog ReadWriteWeb in a post, "The Day Google Stood Still."

Coincidentally, the display of technological vulnerability came at the same time the Minnesota House was debating election reforms and discussing whether voting online is safe.

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Chrysler's list

Posted at 12:43 PM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

Here's the list of all the Chrysler dealerships that the company intends to close.

I count 19 Minnesota dealerships and two in the Twin Cities -- in Stillwater and Lake Elmo.

Dealers, start your lawyers!

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Gap-toothed rural Minnesota landscape?

Posted at 2:22 PM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

Through the miracle of Google street view, let's visit some of the small cities of Minnesota, which seemed to bear the brunt of Chrysler's decisions to close dealerships. Will it leave large, gaping holes in the fabric of rural Minnesota? You decide.

Boe Chrysler in West Concord, Mn.

Salmon Motors in Tracy, MN.

Sonju Two Harbors...

Denny Hecker's Jeep Pine City

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Tales from the 'Threshold Generation'

Posted at 3:25 PM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: Economy

From the things you don't have to tell me department: Who's suffered the most in the economic collapse? It's not the kids graduating college. It's not the people living off their retirement savings. It's people like, ummmm, me, according to the Pew Research Center:

... adults ages 50-64 are living through what feels to them like much harder times. Three-quarters of this so-called Threshold Generation say that the nation's current economic problems will make it more difficult for them to afford retirement. Two-thirds of younger adults and 56% of older adults share the same concern.

Far fewer people in other generations report losing money in stocks and retirement funds as this age group.

The report also suggests we can forget about the inheritance:

The survey also finds a sharp inheritance expectations gap between older adults and their adult children. About three-quarters of all adults 65 or older say they plan to leave an inheritance to children or family members. By contrast, less than half (43%) of all adult children with older parents say they expect to receive an inheritance

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End of the ash?

Posted at 3:52 PM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

There's no stopping the emerald ash borer, from the looks of things. Wisconsin has declared next week Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week to try to stop the little critter that's killing ash trees. But it's already ripped through Wisconsin and has arrived, reports today say, in St. Paul.

From the looks of things, efforts to slow the spread of the killer insect don't do much good once it's already in the vicinity. Most of the tips involve not moving firewood from one area to another. But the emerald ash border can fly about a half mile from a tree it infects.

So those of us with ash trees wait and consider whether we should just get the heartbreak over with and chop it down now.

There are treatments that homeowners can use for smaller ash trees, but it takes more than two years to treat larger trees and we may not have that much time.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has a checklist you can use if you think your tree has become infested. The experts say the dieback starts in the top third of your tree.

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The shame of 'Slumdog'

Posted at 4:57 PM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

The tragic life of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail is the kind of story that justice-seeking Hollywood stars could embrace.

Today, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail was left asking "where's my chicken?" when authorities in Mumbai bulldozed his and other shanties in the city's slum. Ismail is one of the stars of last year's biggest hit movie, "Slumdog Millionaire."

He starred in the film that garnered 8 Oscars and $327 million, but tonight he'll sleep in the mud, the Associated Press reports.

Residents of Garib Nagar vowed Thursday to rebuild, though many have yet to pay off the loans they took out -- at 20 percent monthly interest -- to reconstruct the shanties they lost when the city tore them down last year.

Azhar's mother sat despondently Thursday afternoon on the stack of belongings the family managed to save. Nearby, Azhar dodged piles of metal sheeting and debris as he rode through his destroyed neighborhood on a shiny new bike given to him by a fan from Britain, a fancy black-and-red helmet on his head.

"Slumdog" producers insist they've done their part. "They set up a trust to ensure the children get proper homes, a good education and a nest egg when they finish high school," the AP reported. But it's hard to claim you've "ensured" proper homes when the pictures (from Getty Images) suggest otherwise:

Whatever the failings of the movie's producer, the Vancouver Sun says, is nothing compared to the failure of the government of India:

Whatever the personal failings might be of the people who produced and directed Slumdog Millionaire, those failings are nothing compared with the inadequacy of government reaction to the extreme poverty that plagues India. The filmmakers, to their credit, shone a worldwide spotlight on a terrible problem -- and did it in a way that let people take it in and not turn away. It's unlikely there is a single country in the world that could come away unscathed from an unblinking look at what happens to its most vulnerable citizens. Canada has its own sordid chapters, generally acknowledged only when we can't really avoid it.

Generally speaking, Hollywood hasn't had much to say about the situation.

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Warfare at the Capitol

Posted at 10:05 PM on May 14, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

The governor and the DFL-controlled Legislature are now at full-scale war. Judging by some of the comments at the Capitol, the situation is being met with shock and surprise. Outside the Capitol, it's something we could see coming a mile away.

They didn't talk much -- at least face-to-face -- and it always seemed as though each was trying to navigate the other into a political corner. Watching some of the Capitol press corps' Twitter feeds on Thursday night, it appears the discussion is more about who this "plays" better for politically, rather than what's in the best interest of Minnesotans who don't make their living by getting elected or appointred to state government gigs.

Politics in Minnesota's Steve Perry provided a transcript of an exchange between the combatants that does not inspire confidence on Main St., Minnesota.

Hanson: "Rep. Sertich, if you have another idea, we're listening."

Sertich: "Commissioner Hanson, you use words like 'agreement' and 'mutual' as if you mean them, and I don't believe you, quite honestly. What I hear you say on agreement is, we want you to agree with what the governor says, and if you don't do that, we'll go it alone. I don't share the optimism from around this table. I don't think this is funny.... If the governor goes it alone and has it his way, 113,000 Minnesotans will lose health insurance. Sixteen thousand Minnesotans will lose their jobs, and there will be cuts in education and higher tuition. That's not funny. That's not an agreement. I'm not optimistic."

Hanson: "Well, Rep. Sertich, your version of agreement is us doing exactly what you want."

Sertich: "That's not true. We're looking for compromise. We have compromised in many of these bills to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. We've cut more than you've cut. We've lowered our revenue [proposal] down to the revenue that the governor has stated is needed to balance this budget."

And now the fallout comes, and it's hit the poor first. MPR's Tom Scheck reports the governor has removed $381,081,000 in general assistance, essentially rolling up the safety net for about 33,000 (number according to Rep. Paul Thissen via Twitter).

Let's talk about this but let's do it a little differently. Let's put aside the political sniping for a second and let's come up with a way to solve this problem.

Any ideas?

(Bob is not writing on Friday)

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